Japanese Eencephalitis ground zero: sting missing in fight

Standard preventive measures were yet to be adopted four days after a boy was found infected with the Japanese Encephalitis virus in Shantipally off the Bypass. Metro visited the area and found the mismatch between experts’ prescription to prevent the disease from spreading and the ground reality

Paddy fields near Kalikapur, 1.5km from Shantipally

WHAT MUST BE DONE

■ Fogging with insecticides: No fogging till Tuesday, days after a 15-year-old boy from Shantipally off the Bypass tested positive for Japanese Encephalitis (JE). Some men came with a container of mosquito spray on Sunday and sprayed the liquid on the main road and near the infected boy’s home, residents said

Prescription: Fogging should have been done near the paddy fields at Kalikapur, where mosquitoes breed

■ Removing pigs from the area: There are three areas — Mundapara, Hussainpur (picture below) and Chawkkhola canal — within 1km of Shantipally where pigs are bred. No steps have been taken to remove the animals from the first two places, which are under the CMC

Prescription: Paddy fields where Culex mosquitoes that spread the disease breeds cannot be removed. Best option is to quarantine pigs, the virus-multiplier

■ Improving drainage, maintaining hygiene: Garbage is strewn across the village. No vats were found. Many places are flooded with accumulated rainwater. A canal that runs through the village is blocked by cow dung from the two khatals (cowsheds). “It’s a low-lying area with poor drainage. We will dredge the canal after the monsoon,” said Mita Naskar, pradhan of Kheyada panchayat

Prescription: It is important to maintain hygiene where a JE case has been found. Culex mosquitoes prefer breeding in paddy fields but can breed in any waterlogged area. Garbage attracts mosquitoes

■ Collecting mosquito samples: Not being done. “We are taking for granted the presence of the Culex mosquitoes in the area. Collection will be done in due course. The onus now is on detection of people showing symptoms of enceph-alitis in the area,” said a health official

Prescription: Entomologists said collection of mosquitoes from an area where JE has been detected is standard practice in the fight against the virus

Health workers wade through stagnant water during a door-to-door check at Shantipally on Tuesday

WHAT’S BEING DONE

Health check: Five teams of health workers are doing a door-to-door check to find out if anybody has fever. They will cover a 1.5km area around the village within a week

Fever clinic: Health check camps are being held and doctors are prescribing medicines for running a temperature. Blood samples are being collected for tests. “So far, we haven’t come across anybody showing symptoms of acute encephalitis syndrome... such as high fever, stiff neck and bouts of seizure,” said Sisir Naskar, the block medical officer overseeing a clinic on Tuesday

A boy plays next to
an open drain at
Shantipally on Tuesday.
Pictures by Bishwarup Dutta